The Christian owners of a [UK] seaside hotel may be prosecuted after refusing to allow a gay couple to stay in a double room.
-- From "Gay couple sue Christians for barring them from hotel bed" by Jonathan Petre and Simon Trump, The Daily Mail (UK) 3/21/09
Peter and Hazelmary Bull are facing an unprecedented court case under controversial new equality laws.
Martyn Hall, who lives with his civil partner Steven Preddy, has lodged a county court claim for up to £5,000 in damages alleging 'direct discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation'.
But the Bulls deny the charge, saying they have a long-standing policy of banning all unmarried couples, both heterosexual and gay, from sharing a bed at the Chymorvah Private Hotel in Marazion near Penzance in Cornwall.
Mrs Bull, a 62-year-old great-grandmother, said that even her brother and his female partner had to stay in separate rooms when they visited the hotel.
The Bulls, who have the backing of the Christian Institute, have operated their 'married only' policy since they bought the hotel in 1986.
Mrs Bull insisted last night: 'I have had people clearly involved in affairs and under-age people who have tried to book in here for sex, and I have refused them the same as I refused these gentlemen because I won't be a party to anything which is an affront to my faith under my roof.'
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